Lagos State
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Lagos State State nickname: Centre of Excellence |
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| Location | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Statistics | ||
| Governor (List) |
Bọla Tinubu (Action Congress) | |
| Date Created | 27 May 1967 | |
| Capital | Ikẹja | |
| Area | 3,345 km² Ranked 36th |
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| Population 1991 Census 2005 estimate |
Ranked 1st 5,685,781 10,601,345 |
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| ISO 3166-2 | NG-LA | |
Lagos State is an administrative region of Nigeria.
Contents |
[edit] History
Lagos State was created on May 27, 1967 by virtue of State (Creation and Transitional Provisions) Decree No. 14 of 1967, which restructured Nigeria’s Federation into 12 states.
Prior to this, Lagos Municipality had been administered by the Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Lagos Affairs as the regional authority, while the Lagos City Council (LCC) governed the City of Lagos. Equally, the metropolitan areas (Colony Province) of Ikeja, Agege, Mushin, Ikorodu, Epe and Badagry were administered by the Western Region.
The State took off as an administrative entity on April 11, 1968 with Lagos Island serving the dual role of being the State and Federal Capital.
However, with the creation of the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja in 1976, Lagos ceased to be the capital of the State which was moved to Ikeja. Equally, with the formal relocation of the seat of the Federal Government to Abuja on 12 December 1991, Lagos ceased to be Nigeria’s political capital.
Nevertheless, Lagos remains the nation’s economic and commercial capital. According to extant political records, “Lagos is to the people of Nigeria, what the head is to the body of an individual.”[citation needed]
[edit] Administrative Divisions
Lagos State is further divided into twenty Local Government Areas, or LGAs:
- Agege
- Alimosho
- Amuwo-Odofin
- Apapa
- Badagry
- Eti-osa
- Ibeju-lekki
- Ifako-Ijaye
- Ikorodu
- Kosofe
- Mushin
- Ojo
- Oshodi-Isolo
- Shomolu
- Surulere
- Lagos-Island
- Lagos-Mainland
- Ajeromi-Ifelodun
- Ikeja
- Epe
[edit] Demography
Lagos State is the smallest state in Nigeria, yet it has the highest population, which is over five percent of the national estimate.
According to the 1991 national census, the State has a population of 5,725,116 out of a national estimate of 88,992,220. However, based on a UN study and the State Regional Master Plan, the State is estimated to have above 12 million inhabitants. Out of this population, Lagos metropolitan area is occupied by over 85 percent on an area that is 37 percent of the land area of Lagos State.
The rate of population growth is about 300,000 persons per annum with a population density of about 1,308 persons per sq. kilometer.
In the built up urban areas of metropolitan Lagos, the average density is 20,000 persons per square kilometer. In a recent UN study (1999), the city of Lagos is expected to hit the 24.5 million population mark and thus be among the ten most populous cities in the world by the year 2015.
[edit] People
Lagos State is inhabited by the Aworis and Ogus in Ikeja and Badagry Divisions respectively, with the Ogus being found mainly in Badagry.
While the indigenous population of Lagos are Aworis, there is, nevertheless, an admixture of other pioneer immigrant settlers collectively called Lagosians but more appropriately the Ekos.
The indigenes of Ikorodu and Epe Divisions are mainly the Ijebus with pockets of Ek-o-Awori settlers along the coastland and riverine areas.
While the State is essentially a Yoruba speaking environment, it is nevertheless a socio-cultural melting pot attracting both Nigerians and foreigners alike.
The situation is attributable to its sound economic base and socio-political importance, which induced a high rate of rural-urban migration to the State metropolitan region. According to some estimates, Igbos from eastern Nigeria comprise about a third of the state's population.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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